John Bruton
Question:1 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his visit to Mexico.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Trade Mission to Mexico.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:2 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Mexico and outline the results of the visit; if he raised the matter of allegations of harsh treatment of persons alleged to have been involved in the recent peasants rising; the response, if any, received; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:3 Mr. Deenihan asked the Taoiseach if he will give details of his week-long trade mission to Mexico; the number of companies who were represented on the mission; and the potential for Mexican investment in Ireland and for Irish exporters in Mexico.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:4 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Taoiseach the benefits, in particular in terms of jobs, if any, arising from his visit to Mexico.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together.
From 12 January this year I paid a six day official visit to Mexico, on the invitation of President Salinas.
The main objective of my visit was to develop ties between our two countries and, in particular, to boost Irish trade and investment in this fast developing market of 88 million people. Relations between our two countries have always been friendly. Mexico is now an important and growing market for Irish goods and services — in 1992 we had exports to Mexico of £87 million, the most significant products being milk powder and pharmaceuticals.
During my visit I held discussions with President Salinas, with Mr. Tello, the Mexican Foreign Minister, and with those ministers holding the major economic portfolios, including the Minister for Finance and Minister for Agriculture. I had a particular concern to try to resolve the problem of the Mexican ban on beef exports from Ireland. This ban is due to Mexican fears about BSE. In Ireland's case, of course, this fear is totally unfounded, but in order to resolve the issue we must allay Mexican fears. Towards this end, in my contacts in Mexico, I was facilitated by the concerted efforts my Government had already made at ministerial and diplomatic level.
I am very pleased to confirm that the two Governments have jointly agreed a number of measures which should allow for the resumption of beef exports from Ireland to Mexico at an early date.
In order to maximise the gains from my official visit I was accompanied by a 21-strong mission of senior Irish business executives, co-ordinated by An Bord Tráchtála. I was very pleased to witness the announcement of a major Kerry Group investment in a Mexican food plant and the decision by the Smurfit organisation to increase its investment in Mexico substantially. I was also glad to be associated with the agreement of trade deals in banking software and water purification tablets. I also took the opportunity to support the interests of the other companies represented on the trade delegation, including those from the education sector. In the area of services An Bord Tráchtála have identified considerable potential for growth in the provision of English language and business courses in Ireland and our fast growing education sector should benefit accordingly.
An Bórd Tráchtála estimates that there are now twice as many Irish companies doing business in Mexico as there were three years ago and that with the resolution of the beef problem, we can double our trade in a short number of years. All these initiatives should benefit growth and employment in the Irish economy.
A formal agreement has now been signed between ABT and Mexico's federal trade bank, Bancomext, to open and facilitate credit lines for additional trade, investment and tourism projects. A visit to Ireland by a Mexican trade delegation later this year is also a strong possibility and this should contribute to the further development of trade between the two countries.
From the position of being a very protected economy Mexico has moved rapidly to liberalise trade and investment flows, symbolised by its membership of GATT and most recently by its joining the North American Free Trade Area Agreement (NAFTA). In consequence of these changes Mexico is very interested in the historical parallels with Ireland's membership of the European Communities — in particular, how membership of a larger trading bloc has impacted on our economy. I addressed this theme in a lecture at the Colegio de Mexico, the most prestigious centre for European Union studies in Latin America.
The Irish community in Mexico is small but active in the life of their host country, and is particularly prominent in areas such as education. I met the Irish community to express my appreciation of their contribution both to their home country and their country of residence. Although contact between Ireland and Mexico has not been extensive, the Irish soldiers who died in 1847 fighting for their adopted homeland remain a cherished memory in Mexico. Their contribution and the present day efforts of our citizens in Mexico provide a positive fund of goodwill on which to further build cordial bilateral relations. I wish to pay tribute to the excellent work of the Irish Honorary Consul in Mexico, Mr. Romulo O'Farrill, whose dedication and commitment over three decades in that position has contributed enormously to closer Irish-Mexican relations.
I took the opportunity to brief President Salinas and other Government Ministers on developments relating to Northern Ireland. They expressed their full support for the Joint Declaration as a first step towards a lasting peace with justice in Ireland.
In the course of my discussions with President Salinas I expressed my concern over the conflict which had just taken place in Chiapas State. I expressed sympathy and regret on the loss of life caused through that conflict along with my concerns to learn of how the underlying problems might be dealt with. President Salinas advised me that a ceasefire on both sides had been established and that he had appointed Mr. Camacho, the former foreign minister, as peace commissioner to investigate and mediate the Chiapas conflict. I expressed my best wishes for a negotiated and peaceful resolution to these problems which would allow all the Mexican people to benefit from their growing economy.
I am pleased to note that within the last few days the Mexican Government has recognised the southern Mexican guerilla group as a political force and called for a rapid and serious political settlement.
Did the Taoiseach have any discussions while in Mexico with opposition parties? Mexico is unique in the western hemisphere in that the same party has been in office since the twenties and there are some doubts about the fairness of elections held there.
The answer to the first part of the question is "no". As the Deputy may be aware, a presidential election will take place later this year and I did not want to get involved in any internal politics.
Is it not normal for heads of state visiting this country to meet with the Opposition as well as with the Government? Did the Taoiseach not consider it worthwhile even to ask that he should meet members of the opposition in Mexico?
I have already commented very extensively on the questions of concern to the Irish people in relation to the problems in Chiapas state and beyond that I did not go.
I presume the Taoiseach is aware that 40 per cent of the population of Mexico live below the poverty line and that Chiapas, where the rising took place, is one of the most impoverished states. Apart from being assured by the Mexican authorities that a ceasefire had been negotiated, did he press on the Mexican authorities issues with regard to the human rights of the people of Mexico?
At my meeting with President Salinas he was very forthcoming in relation to the problems in Chiapas state. That state is suffering serious poverty and deprivation and the illiteracy rate is very high. The President said he had sent his foreign minister, with full plenipotentiary powers, to mediate and find a resolution to the problem and that they had called a unilateral ceasefire the day before. There was much concern in Mexico that the fighting and shooting should stop. On that aspect of the meeting my view was that President Salinas was very genuine in his approach to trying to find a solution to the conflict. Now that the Mexican economy is on the up it may be possible for him to do more for the poorer areas. He had already included in the 1994 expenditures 10 per cent of GDP to improve the lot of people such as those in Chiapas state.
What types of business were represented on the 21 man trade mission which accompanied the Taoiseach? Will he indicate priority areas for Irish exporters to Mexico and the areas of greatest potential?
A wide variety of sectors was represented on the 21 company trade mission that accompanied me. As the Deputy is aware the Kerry Group announced a major investment in a Mexican food plant. It is very bullish in its whole approach to the Mexican market. It believes it can establish a good manufacturing and distribution unit there and that there are also possibilities to export there some of its products from Ireland.
One of the major items to be resolved on the mission was, of course, to get the Mexican Government to lift its restrictions on the entry of beef into the Mexican market. This market had been building up before it was closed down a few years ago. Next week a veterinary mission from the Department of Agriculture will go to Mexico to give whatever assurances are required by the Mexican Government, who now understand that we do not have BSE problems. It is true there were no incidences of BSE in any cattle born in Ireland after 1989 and that it had occurred only in very old cows. We finally reached agreement and issued a joint statement and there is no reason to believe there is a problem now. The normal inspection of plants in Ireland by Mexican veterinary inspectors will be carried out after the visit of the veterinary mission from the Department of Agriculture to its counterparts in Mexico.
There are opportunities in the area of education, both in language teaching and in business courses. I understand from the private institutions on the trade mission that they expect to do considerable business there. It is true that we have a Mexican school in Leopardstown. There are some students in Trinity and other colleges. There is much potential in that area.
We also do well in areas such as milk powder and pharmaceuticals. Some of our software firms succeeded in getting considerable business there. This is a good base from which to attack the South American markets.
I am sure the Taoiseach will appreciate there is a glaring omission from his report to the House. The matter in which the Irish people are most interested, so far as Mexico is concerned, has not been touched on. Did he not do a reconnaisance of the Mexican soccer team and does he not have a report on the strengths and weaknesses of that team?
Or more spare tickets.
For the boys.
On a more serious note, is the Taoiseach satisfied that the Mexican authorities accept that our beef is as good as any in the world and that any question of a BSE scare is totally unjustified from the point of view of buying our beef? While I am glad to note the success of the Kerry Group's investment in a Mexican food plant and the decision by the Smurfit organisation to invest about $100 million there, I am more interested in the benefits which may flow as regards jobs here. Does the Taoiseach expect a reasonable number of jobs as a result of our contacts with Mexico?
As I explained in my reply, we reached agreement and issued a joint statement. The Irish veterinarian delegation is going to Mexico next week from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to get its business organised. Then a Mexican veterinarian delegation has to come here to approve whatever plants will export to Mexico. That is normal business practice. There is no reason whatsoever that beef exports to Mexico cannot be resumed.
In relation to soccer, I made preliminary inquiries and I was surprised to hear that the Mexicans have grave fears of meeting the Irish team——
Good.
——because they do not expect to beat Ireland. In fact the coach for the Mexican team stayed in the same hotel as I. It has grave fears in relation to playing Ireland. I said we did not have fears about beating Mexico. Deputy O'Keeffe will agree that trade missions abroad are never defined in terms of jobs. It is true that two leading Irish companies have made investments there—that is within their own corporate strategy—that there is a limit to some of the additional investments that these companies make in Ireland and that they have made international investments to try to underpin the structure of their expanding companies. That refers to the Smurfit Group and the Kerry Group.
Can the Taoiseach indicate whether or not the question of the suitability of Irish beef processing plants was raised in the course of his visit? My understanding is that the Mexican authorities sent inspectors here to check out the suitability of Irish plants and found that 10 per cent of them were unsuitable and that this is part of the reason for the embargo on Irish beef. Will the Taoiseach indicate whether that problem has been overcome?
When clearing plants to export to foreign countries, it is common practice for such countries to lay down their own conditions, hygiene standards and so on. It is true that all of the Irish plants did not pass the test on the last visit of the Mexican authorities. It is a matter for the plants to get their houses in order and make sure that when the Mexican authorities return shortly they will be in a position to approve all of the plants.